What Works in
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention?
Professor Pat Dudgeon, Professor Tom Calma AO, Christopher Holland
April 2014
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Executive Summary

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide occurs at double the rate of other Australians, and
there is evidence to suggest that the rate may be higher.

Suicide is a complex behaviour with many causes. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples there are specific cultural, historical, and political considerations that contribute to the
high prevalence, and that require the rethinking of conventional models and assumptions.

How to prevent suicide is poorly understood for both the general population and Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples. There is a need for further research in this area. Aboriginal
and Torres Strait islander peoples should lead those parts of this research agenda that touch
on suicide in their communities.

It is, however, possible to discuss emerging best practice (or promising practice) in Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention based on expert opinion and experience. This
includes across three levels of intervention:
o
For those at immediate risk of suicide. Culturally safe, non-triggering management,
treatment and support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples at risk of
suicide is particularly important. Training Aboriginal people to provide such services is
one way to achieve this; ensuring non-Indigenous workers are culturally competent is
another. Services should be delivered through Aboriginal Community Controlled
Health Services where possible.
o
For at risk groups, particularly young people and adults. In a preventative approach,
the developmental factors that can pre-dispose a person to suicide must be addressed
at a relatively early age.
o
For whole communities. There is a high level of need for a range of culturally
appropriate and locally responsive healing, empowerment and leadership
programmes and strategies that build social and emotional wellbeing and resilience
and could prove to be effective long term strategies for addressing suicide risk factors.
Building on cultural strengths and supporting self-determination is likely to be a core
component of any program. Importantly, the content, design and delivery of
programs need to have legitimate community support, and be culturally appropriate,
locally based and relevant to people’s needs. This requires engagement and
partnerships with communities.
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1. Introduction - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths by
suicide
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are dying from suicide at twice the rate of other
Australians
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), there were 996 Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander suicide deaths registered across Australia between 2001 and 2010.1 However, it has been
argued that if estimates for unreported suicides and other unnatural deaths that should be identified as
suicides are included, that the number might be closer to 2000 suicides for the ten-year period. 2
Further, utlising media reports and other sources, it has also been estimated there have been nearly 400
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicides - child, youth and adult over 2011-2013. If that is so, the
average of 100 suicides per year over the ten-year period from 2001 has increased to 130 per year in the
three years since 2011.3 This is supported by the recent release of 2012 data by the ABS: it reported 117
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths by suicide in that year.4
Further, from the ABS data for 2001-10:

Suicides accounted for 4.2% of all registered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in 2010,
compared with 1.6% for all Australians. The overall Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide rate
was twice that of non-Indigenous people, with a rate ratio of 2.0 for males and 1.9 for females.5
•
The highest age-specific rate of suicide was among males between 25 and 29 years of age (90.8
deaths per 100,000 population)6.
•
For females, the highest rate of suicide was amongst 20 to 24 years olds (21.8 deaths per 100,000
population7
•
The greatest difference in rates of suicide between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and
non-Indigenous people was in the 15-19 years age group for both males and females. Suicide rates
for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females aged 15–19 years were 5.9 times higher than those
for non-Indigenous females in this age group, while for males the corresponding rate ratio was 4.4.8
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide has things in common and points of difference
with suicide in the general population
This brief emphasises what is distinctive about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in order to
identify important gaps in knowledge, and to guide the development and adaptation of culturally
appropriate strategies of prevention. The following description of suicide was written about Aboriginal
peoples in Canada but it applies, in broad terms, to the situation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples in Australia:
Suicide is a behaviour or action, not a distinct psychiatric disorder. Like any behaviour, it results from
the interaction of many different personal, historical, and contextual factors. Suicide may be
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associated with a wide range of personal and social problems, and have many different contributing
causes in any individual instance. In fact, suicide is only one index of the health and wellbeing of a
population, and it is important to view suicide in the larger context of psychological and social health,
and wellbeing.
Suicide is never the result of a single cause, but arises from a complex web of interacting personal
and social circumstances. From the perspective of prevention, the contributors to suicide can be
thought of in terms of risk factors that increase the likelihood of suicidal behaviour, and protective
factors that reduce it. These risk and protective factors include: the physical and social environments;
individual constitution, temperament, or developmental experiences; interpersonal relationships;
alcohol and substance abuse; suicidal ideation and previous suicide attempts; and co-existing
psychiatric disorders. The individual factors that affect suicide in Aboriginal people are no different
than those found in other populations and communities, but the prevalence and interrelationships
among these factors differ for Aboriginal communities due to their history of colonisation, and
subsequent interactions with the social and political institutions of Canadian society.
Suicide is just one indicator of distress in communities. For every suicide there may be many more
people suffering from depression, anxiety, and other feelings of entrapment, powerlessness, and
despair. At the same time, every suicide has a wide impact affecting many people—family, loved
ones, and peers who find echoes of their own predicament, and who sometimes may be prompted to
consider suicide themselves in response to the event. The circle of loss, grief, and mourning after
suicide spreads outward in the community. In small Aboriginal communities where many people are
related, and where many people face similar histories of personal and collective adversity, the impact
of suicide may be especially widespread and severe.
Although much of the literature on suicide in the general population is relevant to the experience of
Aboriginal people, there are specific cultural, historical, and political considerations that contribute
to the high prevalence, and that require the rethinking of conventional models and assumptions.9
2. What does the evidence say is good practice?
Suicide prevention research is at an early stage
As noted by the National Mental Health Commission in its 2013 National Report Card on Mental Health
Services and Suicide Prevention, there is in fact ‘surprisingly little evidence about what works in suicide
prevention’:
A message is emerging from recent reviews of research: there is an overall lack of evidence, but
there are a handful of effective single interventions to reduce the risk of suicide. These
interventions can be divided into: those aimed at the whole population (universal); those aimed
at ‘at-risk groups’ (targeted); and those for people experiencing mental health problems …
Our literature review of international and Australian research published in the last three years
shows that the most effective programs are those which are comprehensive and systemic and
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which incorporate multiple but co-ordinated approaches and interventions. However, there is as
yet little knowledge about how different elements of these systemic approaches interact with
each other, how they might be best integrated, nor about how different combinations of
approaches work in different setting (references omitted.) 10
They conclude, ‘in terms of what works for suicide prevention, we are only just starting to scratch the
surface.‘11
Part of the difficulty associated with assessing suicide prevention activity in Australia is the lack of
baseline information about rates of suicide against which to assess the success of programmes. This is
because of differences in reporting standards, difficulty determining intent, delays in Coronial verdicts,
and insurance- and stigma-related barriers. Australia is currently attempting to standardise suicide
reporting across the country.
Few formal evaluations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention
programmes have occurred, and those that have are inconclusive.
Appendix 2 of this report contains summary information about 27 suicide prevention programmes
operating in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. However, none have been formally
evaluated. Such an evaluation is necessary before it is possible to identify ‘what works’ in Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention.
What follows is an extract from the 2013 Close the Gap Clearinghouse report Strategies to minimise the
incidence of suicide and suicidal behaviour12 that summarises formally evaluated programmes to date.
A summary of formally evaluated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention
programmes
There are few evaluations of Indigenous-specific suicide prevention programs in Australia. The
Australian Psychological Society notes:
Notwithstanding the acknowledged problems of undertaking program evaluation or
outcome research, this is clearly a priority in a confusing cross-cultural domain where
multiple contextual and situational health determinants complicate any simple causal
picture, and where the efficacy of many programs has been called into doubt (APS
1999:33–34).
… There are however, several Australian Indigenous programs that have either been shown to be
effective in reducing the number of suicides, or have increased the awareness, knowledge and
capacity to respond, of community members, peer mentors and service providers.
Yarrabah Family Life Promotion Program—an effective suicide prevention program
In response to the high number of suicides in Yarrabah, Far North Queensland, the community
identified suicide as a ‘community issue’ and an urgent priority in the early 1990s. Initially the
focus was on crisis clinical support for individuals at risk of suicide, however over the next 2
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years there was a gradual shift to a broader approach that focused on community wellbeing
(Hunter et al. 1999).
A component of the program evaluation involved comparing the number of suicides in Yarrabah
with the numbers in two comparison communities over the period 1990–96. Based on the
results of this analysis, the Yarrabah Family Life Promotion Program was found to be effective in
preventing suicides (Hunter et al. 1999).
Data obtained from the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention for the period
1990–2008 enabled investigation of the longer-term impact of the program (AISRAP personal
communication). The data show that after the implementation of the program, there were no
suicides in Yarrabah between 1997 and 2000. Between 2001 and 2008 there were seven
suicides, but fewer than before the implementation of the program, when 17 suicides occurred
between 1990 and 1996.
Prior to 1996, more suicides occurred in Yarrabah than in the two comparison communities, but
between 1997 and 2008 there were fewer suicides in Yarrabah than in either comparison
community. While the small sample sizes mean that tests of statistical significance are
inconclusive and firm conclusions cannot be drawn regarding the effectiveness of the program in
preventing suicides, the trends in Yarrabah and the two comparison communities indicate that
the Yarrabah Family Life Promotion Program is promising.
------------------------Two programs that have not been rigorously evaluated, but suggest good practice, are:

Alive and Kicking Goals! is a project piloted in the Kimberley, Western Australia. It aims to
prevent Indigenous youth suicide through the use of football and peer education. Volunteer
youth leaders, who are well-respected sportsmen, undertake training to become peer
educators. They educate young people in communities about suicide prevention and
lifestyle, and demonstrate that seeking help is not a sign of weakness. At the conclusion of
the pilot, 16 young men had become peer educators (Tighe & McKay 2012). The project is
ongoing, but its impact on suicide numbers has not been evaluated.

Indigenous suicide prevention training forums attended by Indigenous people and service
providers in the Kimberley and North West regions of Western Australia have been shown to
increase attendees’ knowledge of depression and suicidal behaviour, their skills in working
with depressed and suicidal Aboriginal people and their intentions to help (Westerman &
Hillman 2003). While these results were presented as a poster at a suicide prevention
conference, rather than in a peer reviewed journal, Working together: Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice (Purdie et al. 2010)
identified the forums as providing culturally appropriate training in suicide prevention. The
forums were also identified as promising in the literature review - Current approaches to
Aboriginal suicide prevention (Kirmayer et al. 2009).13
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3. Emerging best practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
suicide prevention
While it is not possible to identify what works in suicide prevention on the basis of formal evaluations, it
is possible to glean emerging best practice from the opinions of experts and those with experience in
the field. What follows is a summary of such practice at three levels of intervention:



For those at immediate risk of suicide
For at risk groups
For whole communities.
Culturally competent suicide prevention services are critical for those at immediate risk of
suicide
One of the important contributions the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health Advisory
Group made to suicide prevention was to develop a set of Operational Guidelines Access To Allied
Psychological Services Program (ATAPS) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention
Services.14
Guidelines for ATAPS suicide prevention services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples.
These included quality indicators for services to:




provide culturally safe, non-triggering management, treatment and support to Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples at high risk of suicide or self-harm at a critical point in
their live and to mitigate the reverberations from suicide in the client's community;
be staffed by administrators and clinicians that are trained and understand mental health
and suicide prevention cultural safety;
establish management protocols that reflect the multiple levels of diversity found in modern
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations; and
be based on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' definitions of health, incorporating
spirituality, culture, family, connection to the land and wellbeing and grounded in
community engagement.15
The guidelines establish that a high quality, culturally competent service will be made available
by ensuring:



Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that are providing services should have the
appropriate level of skills and qualifications to deliver services;
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples are provided with opportunities to develop the appropriate level of skills and
qualifications to deliver services; and
non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander professionals and administrators have undertaken
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mental health cultural safety training that perpetuates the National Practice Standards
within a social and emotional wellbeing framework, and promotes the appropriate skills,
knowledge, and attitudes required to optimally deliver mental health services to Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including those of the Stolen Generation.16
These guidelines for suicide prevention services for people who have attempted, or are at risk of, suicide
hold great promise including beyond the ATAPS scheme. This is because they ensure a culturally
appropriate service at the very time when a vulnerable Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person is
likely to need it most.
But further, because they work to expand the capability and capacity of the Aboriginal Community
Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) to prevent suicide in the communities they serve, including through
partnerships with Medicare Locals. For example, the guidelines expect:


Medicare Locals form practical partnerships and good practice models with Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander community controlled primary health care services (ACCHS) and Local
Health Districts which are documented in funding applications, annual plans, progress
reports and budgets; an
partnerships between Medicare Locals and ACCHS should facilitate developments such as:
o Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership;
o streamlining of new services with existing services to maximise access;
o increased ACCHS access to mainstream specialists;
o utilisation of tele and e-Health to provide continuity of care across ACCHS and
mainstream providers; and
o two way support mechanisms to allow both Medicare Locals (including Local Health
Districts) and ACCHS to assist each other in the delivery of services.17
A preventative approach will target ‘at risk’ groups
While suicide prevention services should maintain an across the lifespan focus, there is evidence that
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are at greatest risk of suicide as young people and young
adults as set out in the text box below.
Young people and young adults as an ‘at risk’ group
The previously discussed ABS data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide over 20012010 also reported:


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The highest age-specific rate of suicide was among males between 25 and 29 years of age
(90.8 deaths per 100,000 population).
For females, the highest rate of suicide was amongst 20 to 24 years olds (21.8 deaths per
100,000 population).
The greatest difference in rates of suicide between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people and non-Indigenous people was in the 15-19 years age group for both males and
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females. Suicide rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females aged 15–19 years
were 5.9 times higher than those for non-Indigenous females in this age group, while for
males the corresponding rate ratio was 4.4.18
The 2004-05 Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey included a sample of 1480
‘young people’ (age 12 – 17 years). Among these, in the 12-months prior to the survey, it
reported:
•
•
•
An estimated 15.6% had seriously thought about ending their own life. Significantly fewer
males had had suicidal thoughts (est. 11.9%) compared with females (est. 19.5%). There
were no statistically significant differences between young people in major cities, regional
areas and remote and very remote areas.
Being female, at high risk of clinically significant emotional or behavioural difficulties or
being exposed to family violence, experiencing racism, and having low self-esteem or friends
who have attempted suicide were all associated with suicidal thoughts. These variables are
also associated with each other.
An estimated 6.5% had tried to end their own life: 9% of females and 4.1% males. The
proportion of young people who had attempted suicide was significantly lower in areas of
extreme isolation (1.2 per cent). All other areas had similar proportions of young people
attempting suicide.19
This data then highlights the need for suicide prevention services to maintain a focus on working with
young people and young adults. This is not only in relation to those among these groups who are
immediately ‘at risk’ but also, in a truly preventative approach, to address the developmental factors
that can pre-dispose a person to suicide and can occur at a relatively early age.
As noted in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy:20
There is growing evidence that, in order to reduce rates of suicidal behaviour and suicide over
the longer term, measures should also be put in place to address the developmental precursors
of suicide and suicidal behaviour. These measures should be targeted to reduce the impact of
adversities over the lifespan and to support healthy social and emotional development from
early childhood through to young adulthood. It is especially important that there is intervention
to support children and young people growing up in adverse family environments, to reduce
early emotional and behavioural problems.
Preventive responses should include parenting programs and therapeutic interventions for high
risk families and children, and a mix of therapeutic, supportive and competency-building or “life
skills” interventions for youth in schools or in post-secondary training, as well as for those who
are unemployed or entering the workforce. In many contexts, young people leaving school
struggle to undertake further training or to stay in work and are in need of counselling and
support.
For young people and adults who have been arrested, incarcerated or placed under residential
supervision, including mandated residential treatments for drugs and alcohol, the transition back
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to their communities is often poorly supported. Given that substance misuse, mental health
issues and problem behaviours leading to arrest or incarceration commonly co-exist, it is
increasingly important that prevention policies focus on their common precursors in human
development. There needs to be a shift towards collaborative, cross-sectoral approaches to
treatment and prevention to treat both current risk and its developmental precursors.21
Interventions aimed at the whole population should build on individual, family, community
and cultural strengths
Interventions to prevent suicide among the whole Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population
require acknowledgement of the diversity of community and other settings in which Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples live. In fact, this diversity necessitates a whole of population approach that
is community focused and is flexible enough to accommodate the differences between communities. As
highlighted in Appendix 2, the National Empowerment Project is an example of a programme that has
such a potential: being a method that is able to be applied universally, yet produces results tailored to
each community’s needs.
Identifying the risk and protective factors contributing to the social and emotional wellbeing of the
community, and its opposite, community distress and suicide, requires an in-depth knowledge of the
historic, cultural and economic risk factors at play in each community. These are best known and
understood by community residents themselves. As noted by the National Mental Health Commission in
its 2013 Report Card:
For those communities more vulnerable to suicide, targeted interventions are needed. We can
see the importance of such a tailored approach, which is designed by and with – not for –
community members when we look more closely into what is known about effective approaches
for suicide prevention among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.22
Our next section takes a closer look at emerging practice in this area.
4. Building on social and emotional wellbeing and cultural strengths as
foundation suicide prevention activity
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples describe their physical and mental health as having a basis
of ‘social and emotional wellbeing’ originating in a network of relationships (or connections) that
includes between the individual and their community traditional lands, family and kin, ancestors and the
spiritual dimension of existence.23 Life is understood in holistic terms: with the health of individuals and
communities evident not simply by the absence of disease but linked to their ‘control over their physical
environment, of dignity, of community self-esteem, and of justice’. 24
Social and emotional wellbeing can be thought of as a protective factor and a source of resilience
against the challenges of life, including those that impact on mental health. Aboriginal Torres Strait
Islander peoples are currently engaged in a dialogue to clarify the scope and interaction of the
components of social and emotional wellbeing.25
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A positive cultural identity has been reported to assist Aboriginal children and young people to navigate
being an oppressed minority group in their own country;26 and provide meaning in adversity.27 For
example, the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey 2004 (WACCHS) reported clinically
significant emotional or behavioural difficulties were lowest in areas of extreme isolation, where
adherence to traditional culture and ways of life was strongest. 28
Challenges to social and emotional wellbeing can undermine resilience and leave individuals and
communities exposed to distress and trauma without a countering protective force. In extreme cases
‘malignant grief’ has been observed: irresolvable, collective and cumulative grief that causes individuals
and communities to lose function and become progressively worse until it ultimately leads to the death
of community members.29
The ‘Hear Our Voices’ Report on Community Consultations for the Development of an Empowerment,
Healing and Leadership Program for Aboriginal people living in the Kimberley, Western Australia (2012)
reported that Aboriginal people have particular conceptions and understanding of healing,
empowerment and leadership based on their historical, political and social experiences and cultural
values and that there is a high level of need for a range of culturally appropriate and locally responsive
healing, empowerment and leadership programs and strategies. 30
However, programs need to address empowerment in different ways, for different groups and in
multiple settings, to accommodate differing levels of need and community, family and individual
readiness. Culture was seen as a core component of any program. Importantly, the content, design and
delivery of programs need to have legitimate community support and engagement, and be culturally
appropriate, locally based and relevant to people’s needs. Empowerment programs could prove to be
effective strategies for enhancing social and emotional wellbeing and addressing suicide risk factors,
especially among young people.31
Empowering communities is vital if they are to address suicide and its causes
The principles set out in the following text box are suggested as critical to the success of empowerment
based suicide prevention programs operating at the community level.
Principles for suicide prevention programmes operating at the community level




Community control and empowerment: projects should be grounded in community, owned by the
community, based on community needs and accountable to the community.
Holistic: based on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander definitions of health incorporating
spirituality, culture and healing.
Sustainable, strength based and capacity building: projects must be sustainable both in terms of
building community capacity and in terms of not being ‘one off’; they must endure until the
community is empowered. For example provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforces
and community members with tools for awareness, early identification and for responding to selfharm issues within the community.
Partnerships: projects should work in genuine partnerships with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait
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

Islander stakeholders and other providers to support and enhance existing local measures not
duplicate or compete with them.
Safe cultural delivery: projects should be delivered in a safe manner.
Innovation and evaluation: projects need to build on learnings, try new and innovative approaches,
share learnings, and improve the evidence base.
The National Empowerment Project, as discussed in Appendix 3, provides a concrete example of
empowerment-based approaches in action.
It is likely that communities with ‘cultural continuity’ will have lower rates of suicide
Suicide rates are an indication of greater psychological distress in communities, and where selfdetermination and cultural reclamation is required. In communities with ‘cultural continuity’, young
people have a sense of their past and their traditions and draw pride and identity from them. By
extension, young people also conceive of themselves as having a future (as bearers of that culture).32
Professor Chandler’s research among Canadian Indigenous communities shows that poor cultural
continuity can result in communities where young people are at a much higher risk of suicide. 33 While
the implications of this research are yet to be fully explored, including their application in Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander settings, and in urban settings, the research suggests a highly productive line of
inquiry and potential policy development in relation to suicide prevention (and more broadly, Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ mental health and social and emotional wellbeing) based on cultural
maintenance and reclamation.
Cultural continuity can be understood in broad terms as self-determination and cultural maintenance. 34
In Professor Chandler’s work a range of cultural continuity indicators were identified. These included:
self-government; land claims; community controlled services, (including police and fire services, health
services, child protection and education services); knowledge of indigenous languages; women in
positions of leadership; and facilities dedicated to cultural purposes. The number of indicators present
correlated to decreased suicide rates in communities.35
Professor Chandler’s work supports approaches that have been explored in Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander communities in the past two decades and that have common threads of cultural reclamation
and community empowerment running through them.36
All communities have the potential for cultural maintenance and cultural continuity. While many are
under pressure, they will have cultural strength that needs to be built upon. Adequate resources should
be devoted to promoting cultural continuity in addition to allocations to suicide prevention and mental
health and social and emotional wellbeing services.
5. A suicide prevention research agenda under Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander leadership
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Given the relative lack of evidence-base upon which to build Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide
prevention programs and services, a strengths-focused research agenda to build such is an important
part of any comprehensive response to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide. In part, this could
by evaluating, as much as possible, existing programmes that are set out in Appendix 2 of this report.
This should occur under Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership. Such control of research has
become firmly embedded in the guidelines for the ethical conduct of research with Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples. This reflects not only the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples, but also good practice.37
Further, as highlighted by the National Mental Health Commission there is a need to do research
differently when it comes to suicide prevention. In particular, to begin to undertake sensitive qualitative
research among people who have attempted suicide but survived and the surviving family members and
kin of people who have taken their lives. This is in contrast to the epidemiological approaches that
dominate research at the moment.38
Finally, participatory action research (PAR) should be promoted in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
communities. This proceeds through repeated cycles, in which researchers and communities start with
the identification of priority issues, originate action, learn about this action and proceed to a new
“research and action cycle”. This process is a continuous one that empowers Indigenous perspectives .
Participants in PAR projects continuously reflect on their learning from the actions and proceed to
initiate new actions on the spot – potentially bringing immediate benefit.39
PAR focuses on developing community capacity to participate as co-investigators in developing,
conducting, disseminating and translating/implementing the research. PAR aims to ensure research is
responsive to community needs, is conducted in a culturally appropriate manner, and is beneficial to the
community. PAR also recognises and values the knowledge of ‘ordinary’ people as a legitimate form of
inquiry and local knowledge, including the ways of collecting such knowledge, as valid and necessary to
understanding a specific research topic.
PAR generates knowledge and shared understanding to mobilise collaborative action for change. Central
to this is the collective ownership of the research processes and outcomes. In this sense, research
becomes a process for change directed by those most affected by the issues being examined.
Undertaken correctly, PAR can support the collective ownership of the research process and its
outcomes. In Appendix 3 the National Empowerment Project is discussed as an example of PAR in
action.
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Appendix 1: The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health
and suicide gap
An overview of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population
Based on the 2011 Census, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has estimated that the resident
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population of Australia as at 30 June 2011 was 669,900 people, or
3% of the total Australian population.40 They were distributed as follows:
State or Territory
Estimated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
population
208500
189000
88270
68,850 - 30% of the population, the highest
proportion of any State or territory
47,333
37,408
24165
6200 (Ibid)
New South Wales
Queensland
Western Australia
Northern Territory
Victoria
South Australia
Tasmania
Australian Capital Territory
As at 30 June 2011, around one-third of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples lived in major
cities (233,100 people). A further 147,700 people lived in inner regional areas and 146,100 people in
outer regional areas. The remainder lived in remote 51,300 people) or very remote areas (91,600
people)41.
Family stressors
A family stressor is an event or circumstance that a person considers has been a problem for them, or
someone close to them. In the 2012–13 Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey
(AATSIHS 2012-13), among approximately 13,000 respondents, 73% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples age 15 years and over reported that they, their family or friends had experienced one
or more stressors in the previous year.42 This table highlights the most commonly reported stressors and
some of the significant differences in the experience of stressors reported by women and men:43
Stressor
Death of a family
member or friend
A serious illness
Inability to get a job
Mental illness
Alcohol-related
problems
ATSI population (% of
respondents)
37%
Women
Men
39%
34%
23%
23%
16%
Not published
22%
23%
19%
16%
24%
22%
13%
12%
.
14
Also in the AATSIHS 2012-13:
•
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people age 15 – 24 years, the most common
reported stressors were the death of a family member or friend (31%); inability to get a job
(24%); serious illness (19%); pregnancy (16%); mental illness (12%); and trouble with the police
(12%).44
•
In major cities and regional areas, 75% of respondents reported more than one stressor in the
previous year compared to 69% of those in remote and very remote areas. Differences in the
experience of stressors are set out in the table below45:
Stressor
Death of a family
member or friend
A serious illness
Inability to get a job
Mental illness
Overcrowding at
home
Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander
population (% of
respondents)
37%
Remote and very
remote
Major cities and
regional areas
42%
35%
23%
23%
16%
Not published
16%
18%
8%
14%
25%
24%
18%
9%
Psychological distress
In the AATSIHS 2012–13, respondents were asked questions about their feelings, and the frequency of
those feelings, to indicate levels of psychological distress. Based on this, the survey reported 30% of
respondents over 18 years of age as having high/very high psychological distress levels in the four weeks
before the survey interview46. This indicates a 3% increase in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples reporting high/very high levels of psychological distress when compared to the 27% of
respondents who reported such in the 2004-05 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
Survey (Ibid)47. Further:
•
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples over 18 years were nearly three times as likely as
non-Indigenous people to have experienced high/very high levels of psychological distress (rate
ratio of 2.7). This pattern was evident for both men and women across all age groups48.
•
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women reported significantly higher levels of psychological
distress than men. Across all age groups, 36% of women compared with 24% of men reported
having high/very high levels of psychological distress. Only in women age 45–54 years was parity
with men reported.49
.
15
•
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in major cities and regional areas reported
significantly higher levels of high/very high psychological distress than those living in remote and
very remote areas (32% compared with 24%). This difference existed across all age groups,
except for those age 25–34 years.50
Suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts among Aboriginal young people
The 2004-05 Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey included a sample of 1480 ‘young
people’ (age 12 – 17 years)51. Among these, in the 12-months prior to the survey, it reported:
•
An estimated 15.6% had seriously thought about ending their own life. Significantly fewer males had
had suicidal thoughts (est. 11.9%) compared with females (est. 19.5%). There were no statistically
significant differences between young people in major cities, regional areas and remote and very
remote areas.52
•
Being female, at high risk of clinically significant emotional or behavioural difficulties or being
exposed to family violence, experiencing racism, and having low self-esteem or friends who have
attempted suicide were all associated with suicidal thoughts. These variables are also associated
with each other53.
•
An estimated 6.5% had tried to end their own life: 9% of females and 4.1% males. The proportion of
young people who had attempted suicide was significantly lower in areas of extreme isolation (1.2
per cent). All other areas had similar proportions of young people attempting suicide54.
Suicide
There were 996 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide deaths registered across Australia between
2001 and 2010. Suicides accounted for 4.2% of all registered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths
in 2010, compared with 1.6% for all Australians. The overall Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide
rate was twice that of non-Indigenous people, with a rate ratio of 2.0 for males and 1.9 for females.55
Further:
•
The highest age-specific rate of suicide was among males between 25 and 29 years of age (90.8
deaths per 100,000 population)56.
•
For females, the highest rate of suicide was amongst 20 to 24 years olds (21.8 deaths per
100,000 population.57
•
The greatest difference in rates of suicide between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
and non-Indigenous people was in the 15-19 years age group for both males and females.
Suicide rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females aged 15–19 years were 5.9 times
higher than those for non-Indigenous females in this age group, while for males the
corresponding rate ratio was 4.4.58
.
16
Appendix 2: Examples of current suicide prevention activity in
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
Arranged by jurisdiction, the following are extracted from:


April 2014 The Elders’ Report into Preventing Indigenous Self-harm & Youth Suicide59 and
2013 Menzies School of Health Research paper Towards a National Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy - Consultation Paper for Community Forums60
Multi-jurisdictional
WESLEY LIFEFORCE NATIONAL PROGRAM IN SUICIDE PREVENTION
The Wesley LifeForce Suicide Prevention Program was established in 1995 by Reverend Bob Dunlop of
Wesley Mission as a response to the growing number of suicides in Australia. The program was initially
known as “Hearing the Cry” and it was aimed at training community members from all walks of life to
know what to do appropriately and confidently in a time of suicidal crisis. Aside from running workshops
and seminars, Wesley LifeForce works within communities to develop Suicide Prevention Networks.
These networks are designed to provide a framework for the development of localised suicide
prevention.
There are 21 Networks nationally. Those that particularly focus on suicide prevention in Indigenous
communities include:
• Darwin Region Indigenous Suicide Prevention Network (NT)
• Top End Suicide Prevention Network (NT)
• Galupa Marngarr Suicide Prevention Group (NT)
• Life Networks Wambool Aboriginal Team (NSW)
Western Australia
DUMBARTUNG ABORIGINAL CORPORATION
Dumbartung is a Nyoongah grass roots cultural advocacy agency working to alleviate the suffering of
trauma and pain associated with past Government policies of dispossession, displacement and religious
disinheritance. It strives to empower the healing of Nyoongah people’s lives and communities through
cultural initiatives that strengthen spiritual identity and create a sense of belonging.
YIRIMAN PROJECT
The Yiriman Project is an intergenerational, “on-Country” cultural healing and education program,
conceived and developed directly by Elders from four Kimberley language groups: Nyikina, Mangala,
Karajarri and Walmajarri. These four language groups form their own culture block, sharing similar
.
17
cultural, geographical, language and kinship ties across a vast region of traditional lands stretching from
the coastline south of Broome, inland to the desert areas south and just east of Fitzroy Crossing,
Western Australia. The aim of the project is to “build stories in young people”, with Elders taking them
out to their traditional homelands for extended periods of time. The Yiriman Project is auspiced by the
Kimberly Aboriginal Law and Culture Centre (KALACC).
BALGINJIRR CULTURAL AND LIFE PROMOTION CAMPS
Madjulla Aboriginal Corporation supports the efforts of the Aboriginal people from the Fitzroy River in
the Kimberley to preserve and maintain their unique languages and cultures with various programmes
focused on the social and cultural wellbeing. One of these programmes is the cultural camps run at
Balginjirr community, where Elders take at-risk youth out on country to teach them their culture,
language and knowledge of country. The programme has received great support from surrounding
communities, and over the years it has been operating it has helped make communities and youth
stronger.
STANDBY SUICIDE BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT SERVICE
The Service is based in Pilbara and Kimberley Region WA and provides an integrated, comprehensive,
responsive support system built on existing emergency and community response mechanisms for
people at risk of suicide and self harm, their family, friends, associates and those affected by suicide
bereavement.
ONELIFE
OneLife, (Government of Western Australia, Department of Health). The Western Australian Suicide
Prevention Strategy, 2009-2013 emphasises a coordinated approach, with an Agency Coordinator
responsible for coordinating links between government, NGOs and the corporate sector, and a Network
Coordinator and Community Coordinators responsible for developing community and regional action
plans.
Northern Territory
SUICIDE STORY
Suicide Story (NT) was developed within the Life Promotion Program of the Mental Health
Association of Central Australia. The program trains Indigenous community members in the delivery of
the ‘Suicide Story’, an Indigenous focused DVD/program aimed at reducing the incidence of
suicide/suicide attempts in remote communities.
WURLI-WURLINJANG HEALTH SERVICE (STRONGBALA MEN’S HEALTH PROGRAM)
Wurli-Wurlinjang Health Service is the local health organisation owned by and operated for Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people in the Katherine region. The StrongBala Men’s Health program
.
18
provides culturally appropriate support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males by providing a
male-only facility which delivers a broad range of services, including clinical services and health
education activities. It has a strong focus on cultural revitalisation by facilitating reconnection or
connection with cultural identity and country through interaction between Elders and younger men.
AKEYULERRE INC.
The Akeyulerre Healing Centre was developed in 2000 by Arrernte Elders as a place they could come to
share and practice their culture and healing in the Alice Springs region. The Angkwerre-Iweme
(Traditional Healing) project was developed to assist Elders and healers to maintain and practice
Arrernte traditional healing within their community. Arrernte healing is extremely important for many
people in Central Australia. There are strong knowledge systems that comprise of an interconnected
model of health care for Arrernte people. Healing is linked with the land through bush medicines,
healing songs, smoking and Angangkere (healers). The project supports healers to come together and
keep strong in their work.
BALUNU FOUNDATION
The Balunu Foundation (Balunu) is an Indigenous owned and operated, not for profit, registered charity
based in Darwin in the Northern Territory. Balunu’s vision is to break the cycle of Indigenous
disadvantage by targeting the youth of this generation and reconnecting them with their true identity,
dealing with the underlying issues they face and equipping them with the necessary tools to make
strong choices. Balunu strives to increase the self-esteem, confidence and emotional and spiritual
wellbeing of Indigenous youth to assist them to become strong, balanced individuals who will create
strong families and positive pathways for future generations.
WARRA-WARRA KANYI (MT THEO PROGRAM)
The Mt Theo Program was established in 1993 by Elders from Yuendumu in response to chronic petrol
sniffing issues within the community. An initiative of the Walpiri Youth Development Aboriginal
Corporation (WYDAC), the program has developed consisting of a range of sport, cultural, and
recreational activities designed to engage Walpiri youth. In 2008, the MT Theo Program established the
Warra-Warra Kanyi Counselling and Mentoring service in Yuendumu to target critical youth issues such
as alcohol or other substance abuse, suicidal behaviour, sexual health, relationship breakdown,
domestic violence, depression and grief, as well as providing services in crisis response, education, group
project work and bush trips. Over the past seven years WYDAC has also assisted other Walpiri
communities to establish youth diversionary programmes.
THE LET’S START PARENT-CHILD PROGRAM
The program is a school-based therapeutically oriented early intervention program for Aboriginal
parents and children, developed in contexts of high suicide risk and aiming to improve parenting and
parent-child relationships.
.
19
CENTRAL AUSTRALIAN YOUTH LINK-UP SERVICE (CAYLUS)
CAYLUS has operated since November 2002 as a division of Tangentyere Council, based in Alice Springs.
Its service area spans communities across the bottom half of the Northern Territory. CAYLUS-supported
initiatives have included developing rehabilitation services, youth programs, night patrols, policing
initiatives, football carnivals and video and radio projects in local languages. The development of these
community-based recreation and youth programs have had a myriad of health, substance misuse
prevention and community safety outcomes, including the reduction of suicide and self-harm.
AMPE AKWEKE PLACE
One of the major risk factors for Indigenous youth suicide is unplanned pregnancy. Ampe akweke Place,
based in Alice Springs, is a program for young women aged14 to 21 who are having a baby. Ampe
akweke offers both outreach support and residential support,
if the young women have nowhere suitable or safe to stay. Young women can stay in the safe house for
up to three months. Ampe akweke works with young women to ensure that their needs, and those of
their babies, are met. Its family support workers provide parenting education and support, as well as
case management to all young women accessing the program.
YIRRKALA HEALING CENTRE NORTH EAST ARNHEM LAND NT
The Gon Djambutj Healing Centre in Yirrkala is to be a community-owned and operated business directly
providing complementary mainstream medical and other allied health and traditional healing services to
Yolngu in need - including their carers.
An initial $300,000 was raised via an art auction, facilitated by the Aboriginal Benefits Foundation (ABF),
after a request from the Yirrkala Community. To date money has been expended on moving the project
forward including a business feasibility study (Ambrose Solutions), architectural designs (Indyk
Architects), and surveys (Cross Survey) and the funding of a temporary onsite traditional healing training
program for younger Yolngu Women led by the most senior healing woman.
The site identified by Community enables the Centre design to complement the culturally significant
banyan tree. The infrastructure was designed with Community consultation.
The Centre aims to provide a culturally appropriate environment where all aspects of health, including
the mental and spiritual are brought together with a focus on diet, relaxation, therapies, counselling and
respite. The Centre will also be a place for the perpetuation of healing traditions, training and the
education of young people about their cultural responsibilities.
Yolngu employment opportunities include: cultural mentors, healers, collectors, researchers, youth
workers, client transport, cleaners, builders, administration and management.
.
20
Victoria
YANYUN LOTJPAN YAPENYEBAK
Yanyun Lotjpan Yapenyebak means ‘Walk and Talk Together’ in the local Yorta Yorta language. The
program works with Indigenous at-risk youth in a holistic way, reconnecting them with their culture,
building their self-respect and respect for others, and helping them develop their sense of identity. The
program involves group work and mentoring and provides opportunities for participants to learn about
their culture through excursions, spending time on country, creating artefacts and sharing stories. The
program works to improve the participants’ wellbeing, emotional health, family relationships, cultural
knowledge and educational and employment outcomes.
KOORI MENTAL HEALTH LIAISON OFFICERS IN RURAL VICTORIA
This element of the Victorian Aboriginal Suicide Prevention and Response Plan (Victoria, Department of
Health, 2010) aims to improve access to culturally appropriate mental health services for Aboriginal
people.
H.O.P.E
The H.O.P.E. project provides psychological and coordination services to young Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander students at risk of suicide and self harm in the Mildura area. The project addresses the
complex interface between eduation and anti-social behaviour and provides links to primary care and
helps connect participants to positive lifestyle activities in art, culture and sport.
South Australia
ANANGU NGANGKARI TJUTAKU ABORIGINAL CORPORATION
Anangu Ngangkari Tjutaku is the first organisation of Aboriginal traditional healers in Australia, based in
the APY Lands. The ngangkari (traditional healers) of Anangu Ngangkari Tjutaku aim to provide healing
services to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in the APY Lands, South Australia, and in the cross
border areas of South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia. They provide their healing
services everywhere they are needed, from hospitals and health care services in remote areas to
correctional services and police courts. The ngangkari work hand-in-hand with Western medical
practitioners and health professionals to provide holistic two-way health care to their patients.
.
21
Queensland
MARUMALI JOURNEY OF HEALING
The Marumali Journey of Healing was developed by Aunty Lorraine Peeters, a survivor of the Stolen
Generations. It is a healing program, rather than a ‘therapy’ or a ‘treatment’ and respects the autonomy
and strength of survivors and includes the spiritual dimensions of healing. The word ‘marumali’ is a
Kamilaroi word, which means ‘to heal’ or ‘put back together’. The aim of the program is to ‘increase the
quality of support available to survivors of removal policies (Stolen Generations). The Journey of Healing
seeks to reconnect those who were removed from family, community, land, language and ancestors. It
affirms that ‘disconnection is the disease, reconnection is the cure’.
RED DUST HEALING (and NSW also)
Red Dust Healing is a cultural healing program developed by two experienced Indigenous workers who,
through their own journeys of self-discovery, understand the importance of unpacking the issues in
men’s lives to address what lies at the heart of their problems. The program is delivered through group
sessions and individual case management and support systems. The aim of the program is to give
Aboriginal men an understanding of identity, to equip them with self-evaluation skills, to develop future
role models and fathers, and to restore family relationships.
Red Dust Healing has been offered to a wide range of participants, including young people in juvenile
detention, high school students and men’s groups. Red Dust Healing has also been adapted for delivery
to doctors, police and legal practitioners to increase cultural awareness and explain healing from an
Aboriginal perspective.
PELICAN EXPEDITIONS
Pelican Expeditions has established a strong reputation for their work with Indigenous communities on
sea country in Cape York. Invited by Hopevale Elders to help them address issues of youth suicide and
family breakdown, they have run multidisciplinary programs in collaboration with community since
2004. These programs focus on cultural reinforcement, self-esteem, leadership and vocational training
with community Elders in the driver’s seat. These are all conducted in a community setting “on country”
in remote locations on the Cape York coast. Please lend your support to keep us coming back to
continue this important work.
BUILDING BRIDGES
The Building Bridges project aims to: support leadership and collaboration among local men in suicide
prevention; harness the capacity of the Family Well Being program to develop life promotion skills in the
broader community; obtain a better understanding of the meaningfulness and dimensions of suicide
and self-harming behaviours and foster participation and communication of messages of purpose and
identity to young people.
.
22
New South Wales
MARRIN WEEJALI
Marrin Weejali is a non-residential cultural and spiritual healing centre based in Sydney. It is an
Aboriginal community-controlled organisation that has been providing free
of charge alcohol and other drug services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients living in the
Sydney metropolitan area since 1996. Their aim is to give hope to their clients and help them to change
their lives for the better, lifting them out of despair to live healthy and dignified lives. The organisation
meets the holistic needs of clients, their families and the broader community through our formal
partnerships and informal collaborations with a wide range of service providers who deliver services
from our centre in an environment of cultural safety.
BACK TO LORE BACK TO COUNTRY
This is a NSW Elders-led community-driven healing initiative that takes young Aboriginal men from 14
years and upwards through traditional Lore and Initiation.
These camps are vital for strengthening the mind, body and spirit of the young men involved, providing
them with a strong cultural identity, connection to country and respect for family and community. The
camps are 10 days long, led by 5 Elders and take up to 25 young men.
THE GAMARADA HEALING AND LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
The Gamarada Healing and Leadership Program is a healing and empowering life- skills program to
support Aboriginal men at risk of suicide. The 10-week program incorporates healing strategies to
restore social and emotional wellbeing following ongoing intergenerational effects of trauma among
Indigenous communities. The program focuses on building self-esteem and promoting mental health. An
emphasis is placed on strengthening spirituality and culture, identity and relationships, stress and anger
management, and health issues that may be a factor in domestic violence. Recently, information about
legal issues, rights and services has also been included in the sessions. The workshops/sessions provide
participants with an experiential understanding of disempowerment and how to recover from factors
that contribute to suicide. Traditional Aboriginal methods and spirituality are central to the process of
learning, development and self-healing throughout the program.
KOORI KIDS
MindMatters is a whole-school approach to mental health education for secondary students that
provides professional development and resources to teaching staff and aims to provide information, to
destigmatise mental illness and promote help-seeking among young people. Koori Kids (NSW) provides
cultural awareness and whole-of-school mental health promotion programs (based on Mind Matters
and Aussie Optimism programs) to improve the emotional and social wellbeing of aboriginal children
attending targeted local primary schools. The program also works with parents to support those children
who are experiencing mental ill health and behavioural problems.
.
23
Appendix 3: The National Empowerment Project
The National Empowerment Project (NEP) is an Aboriginal-led initiative that undertook research with
eight Aboriginal communities over 2013. These communities included:




Western Australia: Narrogin, Perth and Northam/Toodyay;
Queensland: Cherbourg and Kuranda;
New South Wales: Toomelah and Redfern; and
Victoria: Mildura.
The purpose of the project was to have each community identify factors impacting negatively on the
social and emotional wellbeing of individuals, families and the community itself. At the same time, each
community was asked to identify strategies that could work to strengthen social and emotional
wellbeing including through building on cultural strengths. Stage 2 of the project will support
communities to implement these strategies.. In so doing, the project aims to increase resilience of
individuals and families and hopefully reduce levels of psychological distress and suicide in each of the
communities.
The Project is an exemplar of the application of participatory action research in Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander communities. This is an empowerment-based research approach that gives a voice to
communities to identify factors impacting on social and emotional wellbeing, and supports them to take
community-identified action to benefit their communities.
The main findings from this research are:
First, while the eight communities were very different in size, location, history and levels of remoteness,
all identified a similar range of challenges, although the priority allocated to each challenge varied
considerably.
Issues identified as impacting negatively on social and emotional wellbeing included:











problems with youth;
family disharmony/feuding/violence;
substance abuse;
mental health issues;
the intergenerational and trans-generational impacts of forced child removals;
racism;
lack of education;
lack of employment;
lack of housing
lack of transport; and
lack of services.
Second, along with similar challenges, all eight communities identified a similar set of actions required
.
24
to strengthen the cultural, social and emotional wellbeing of individuals, families and the community
itself; and in particular, to overcome the challenges impacting negatively on community wellbeing and
contributing to distress and suicide.
Common themes included:

To strengthen communities:
o
o
o
o
o
o

To strengthen families:
o
o
o
o

by focusing on youth – by providing activities, drop in centres, camps, by connecting youth
to elders, by providing health promotion and education sessions, parenting programmes,
and by restoring sporting competitions;
by strengthening the sense of community - through shared activities and community events
such as fun days, competitions and projects;
by supporting self-determination;
by supporting men’s and women’s groups;
by providing access to employment, education, housing and transport; and
by addressing family violence and substance abuse;
by restoring and strengthening positive relationships and connections within and between
families through shared activities (as above, this will also help to restore sense of
community);
by providing a range of life skills programmes such as those addressing communication
skills, dealing with conflict, and healthy lifestyle;
by providing programmes to address family violence and substance abuse;
by providing access to education/training and transport.
To strengthen individuals:
o
o
o
o
o
by restoring and strengthening connections to culture, family and community;
by focusing on youth (as above);
by focusing on health;
by providing a range of life skills programmes, such as on communication skills and building
self-esteem, and that include mentors and role models; and
by providing programmes that address family violence and substance abuse issues.
Critically, participants also said they wanted to be involved in designing and delivering any subsequential
programmes for their communities.
While identifying common issues and solutions, each community also differed in the emphasis it gave to
each issue. While some communities prioritised the need to address social and emotional wellbeing
problems (such as family violence and substance abuse) others gave priority to addressing the social
determinants (such as lack of education, employment and transport).
.
25
Key stages in the history of the NEP included:






The earlier research and publication of the Kimberley Empowerment Project Hear our Voices Report
(Dudgeon et al 2012), and its recommendations for empowerment, healing and leadership
programmes as a tool for preventing suicide and psychological distress. This approach was taken to
a national level in the NEP.
The establishment of a National Advisory Committee comprising experts and leaders in social and
emotional wellbeing and related areas, with terms of reference that included oversight of all
significant NEP activity.
The NEP Team building relationships with eight communities and formal relationships with
Aboriginal partner organisations in each.
The NEP Team, with the help of partner organisations, selecting two people in each community to
be employed as Community Consultant Co-researchers (co-researchers).
The co-researchers, with training and support from the NEP Team, undertook community
consultations in each site that involved focus groups and interviews.
The co-researchers, with training and support from the NEP Team, delivered a two-day cultural,
social and emotional wellbeing workshop with the purpose supporting community members to
exert greater control over their social and emotional wellbeing. In this participants were asked to
consider ways to strengthen their connections to the domains of social and emotional wellbeing:
that is to family, community, country, spirit and spirituality, body, mind and emotions. In particular,
participants were asked to identify and focus on the strengths they found within each domain and
to identify actions they could take to strengthen their connection to these protective factors.
Stage 2 will involve further work to support individuals to work on some of the risk factors in the
domains of social and emotional wellbeing, to restore some of the ‘losses’ and to further strengthen
their connection to protective factors. As participants grow stronger, it is hoped their psychological
distress will decrease and their resilience will increase, with an accompanying decrease in the risk of
suicide.
A further important element of the NEP process involved participants considering how empowerment
programmes could be developed. These are intended to support each community to exert greater
control over its social and emotional wellbeing by taking the steps each identified as necessary to
address or minimise risk factors and increase the benefits of protective factors at individual, family and
community levels. An additional purpose of these programmes is to increase resilience and reduce
psychological distress and rates of suicide in the community.
Participatory action research as a method for working in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
communities has merit. Participatory action research (PAR) has been used successfully in Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander contexts as an engaging research approach to strengthen and empower
communities.
The success of NEP in engaging communities confirms the appropriateness of this approach in the
development of a universal, context specific health promotion and primary prevention strategy for
reducing suicide and psychological distress in communities. That is, PAR builds on the cultural strengths
identified at an individual, family and community levels in order to address the risk and protective
.
26
factors within groups and to enhance their social and emotional wellbeing. This allows for diversity
among communities to be recognised and avoids the pitfalls of ‘one size fits all’ approach.
1
Australian Bureau of Statistics, Suicides, Australia, 2010, ABS cat. no. 3309.0, 24/07/12,
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/3309.0~2010~Chapter~Aboriginal+and+Torres+Strait+Islander+suicide+deaths?OpenDocu
ment (10/1/14).
2 Gorgatos, G., Nothing will be done about the suicides crisis states expert, The Stringer, 8 March 2014
<http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/nothing-will-be-done-about-suicides-crisis-states-expert> (5 April 2014).
3 Gorgatos, G., Nothing will be done about the suicides crisis states expert, The Stringer, 8 March 2014
<http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/nothing-will-be-done-about-suicides-crisis-states-expert> (5 April 2014).
4 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Causes of Death 2012 (ABS cat. no. 3303.0), 25 March 2014 <
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/3303.0~2012~Main%20Features~External%20Causes%20(V01-Y98)~10021>.
5 ABS 2012a - Australian Bureau of Statistics, Suicides, Australia, 2010, ABS cat. no. 3309.0, 24/07/12,
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/3309.0~2010~Chapter~Aboriginal+and+Torres+Strait+Islander+suicide+deaths?OpenDocu
ment (10/1/14).
6 Ibid.
7
Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9
Excerpt from the Executive Summary of: Kirmayer, L.K., Brass, G.M., Holton, T., Paul, K., Simpson, C., & Tait, C. (2007). Suicide Among
Aboriginal People in Canada. Canada: Aboriginal Healing Foundation, pp. xv-xvi.
10
National Mental Health Commission, A Contributing Life, The 2013 National Report card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Sydney:
NMHC, 2013, pp170-171.
11 National Mental Health Commission, A Contributing Life, The 2013 National Report card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Sydney:
NMHC, 2013, p175.
12
Close the Gap Clearinghouse (AIHW &AIFS), Strategies to minimise the incidence of suicide and suicidal behaviour, Resource sheet 18,
Produced for the Close the Gap Clearinghouse, Canberra, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Melbourne, 2013.
13 Close the Gap Clearinghouse (AIHW &AIFS), Strategies to minimise the incidence of suicide and suicidal behaviour, Resource sheet 18,
Produced for the Close the Gap Clearinghouse, Canberra, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Melbourne, 2013.pp10-11.
14 Department of Health and Ageing, Operational Guidelines for the Access to Allied Psychological Services Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Suicide Prevention Services (unpublished) Canberra, DOHA, 2012.
15 Department of Health and Ageing, Operational Guidelines for the Access to Allied Psychological Services Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Suicide Prevention Services (unpublished) Canberra, DOHA, 2012, p.4.
16
Department of Health and Ageing, Operational Guidelines for the Access to Allied Psychological Services Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Suicide Prevention Services (unpublished) Canberra, DOHA, 2012, p.5.
17
Department of Health and Ageing, Operational Guidelines for the Access to Allied Psychological Services Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Suicide Prevention Services (unpublished) Canberra, DOHA, 2012, p.5.
18 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Suicides, Australia, 2010, ABS cat. no. 3309.0, 24/07/12,
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/3309.0~2010~Chapter~Aboriginal+and+Torres+Strait+Islander+suicide+deaths?OpenDocu
ment (10/1/14).
19 Zubrick SR, Silburn SR, Lawrence DM, Mitrou FG, Dalby RB, Blair EM et al. (2005). The Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey.
Volume 2: The social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal children
and young people. Perth: Curtin University of Technology and Telethon
Institute for Child Health Research.
20 Department of Health and Ageing, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy, DOHA, Canberra, 2013, p22.
<http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/mental-pub-atsi-suicide-prevention-strategy. (6 April 2014).
21 Department of Health and Ageing, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy, DOHA, Canberra, 2013, p22.
<http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/mental-pub-atsi-suicide-prevention-strategy. (6 April 2014).
22 National Mental Health Commission, A Contributing Life, The 2013 National Report card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Sydney:
NMHC, 2013, p.171
23
Social Health Reference Group, National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' Mental Health and Social and
Emotional Well Being (2004 – 2009), Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2004, pp7-8.
24 National Aboriginal Health Strategy Working Group, National Aboriginal Health Strategy, AGPS, Canberra, 1989, pix.
25 Gee, G., Dudgeon, P., Schultz, C., Hart, A. & Kelly. K. (2013) ‘Social and Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health: An Aborigin al
Perspective’. Chapter 4, In Dudgeon, Milroy and Walker (eds) Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health an d
Wellbeing Principles and Practice – Revised Edition. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, (in press)
26 Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, The State of Victoria’s Children 2009: Aboriginal Children and Young People in
Victoria, State Government of Victoria, Melbourne, 2010, p45.
27 Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health, Key directions for a social, emotional, cultural and spiritual wellbeing population health
framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in Queensland, CRRMH, Queensland, 2009, pp 9, 11, 19.
.
27
28
Zubrick, S., Lawrence, D., Silburn, S., Blair, E., Milroy, H., Wilkes, T., Eades, S., D’Antoine, H., Read, A., Ishiguchi, P. & Doyle, S., The Western
Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey: The Health of Aboriginal Children and Young People, Telethon Institute for Child Health Research,
Perth, 2004.
29
Parker, R, “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health – An Overview” in (eds.) Purdie, N., Dudgeon, P., Walker, R., Working
Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practice, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra,
2010, p6, (citing the work of Professor Helen Milroy).
30 Dudgeon, P., Cox, K., D’Anna, D., Dunkley, C., Hams. K., Kelly, K., Scrine., C., & Walker, R., Hear Our Voices, Community Consultations for the
Development of an Empowerment, Healing and Leadership Program for Aboriginal people living in the Kimberley, Western Australia,
Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2012.
31 Dudgeon, P., Cox, K., D’Anna, D., Dunkley, C., Hams. K., Kelly, K., Scrine., C., & Walker, R., Hear Our Voices, Community Consultations for the
Development of an Empowerment, Healing and Leadership Program for Aboriginal people living in the Kimberley, Western Australia,
Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2012.
32 Chandler, M. J. & Lalonde, C. E. (2008). Cultural Continuity as a Protective Factor against Suicide in First Nations Youth. Horizons --A Special
Issue on Aboriginal Youth, Hope or Heartbreak: Aboriginal Youth and Canada’s Future. 10(1), 68-72.
Chandler, M. J. & Lalonde, C. E. (1998). Cultural continuity as a hedge against suicide in Canada’s First Nations. Transcultural Psychiatry, 35, 191219.
33 Chandler, M. J. & Lalonde, C. E. (2008). Cultural Continuity as a Protective Factor against Suicide in First Nations Youth. Horizons --A Special
Issue on Aboriginal Youth, Hope or Heartbreak: Aboriginal Youth and Canada’s Future. 10(1), 68-72.Chandler, M. J. & Lalonde, C. E. (1998).
Cultural continuity as a hedge against suicide in Canada’s First Nations. Transcultural Psychiatry, 35, 191-219.
34 Chandler, M. J. & Lalonde, C. E. (2008). Cultural Continuity as a Protective Factor against Suicide in First Nations Youth. Horizons --A Special
Issue on Aboriginal Youth, Hope or Heartbreak: Aboriginal Youth and Canada’s Future. 10(1), 68-72.
Chandler, M. J. & Lalonde, C. E. (1998). Cultural continuity as a hedge against suicide in Canada’s First Nations. Transcultural Psychiatry, 35, 191219.
35 Chandler, M. J. & Lalonde, C. E. (2008). Cultural Continuity as a Protective Factor against Suicide in First Nations Youth. Horizons --A Special
Issue on Aboriginal Youth, Hope or Heartbreak: Aboriginal Youth and Canada’s Future. 10(1), 68-72.
Chandler, M. J. & Lalonde, C. E. (1998). Cultural continuity as a hedge against suicide in Canada’s First Nations. Transcultural Psychiatry, 35, 191219.
36 Dudgeon, P., Cox, K., D’Anna, D., Dunkley, C., Hams. K., Kelly, K., Scrine., C., & Walker, R., Hear Our Voices, Community Consultations for the
Development of an Empowerment, Healing and Leadership Program for Aboriginal people living in the Kimberley, Western Australia,
Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2012, pp.94-96.
37
See Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Guidelines for Ethical Research in Australian Indigenous Studies 2012,
AIATSIS, Canberra 2012; National Health and Medical Research Council, Values and Ethics: Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Health Research, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra 2003.
38
National Mental Health Commission, A Contributing Life, The 2013 National Report card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Sydney:
NMHC, 2013, p.175.
39
Esler D., Participatory Action Research in Indigenous health, (Professional Practice Paper, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners)
Australian Family Physician Vol. 37, No. 6, June 2 2008, Available online at: http://www.racgp.org.au/afp/200806/200806esler.pdf. (Accessed
21/8/12)
40 ABS 2013 - Australian Bureau of Statistics, Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, June 2011, Notes, ABS cat no.
3238.0.55.001, 30/08/13, http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3238.0.55.001Main+Features1June%202011?OpenDocument,
(17/12/13).
41 Ibid
42 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, First Results, 2012, ABS cat. no. 4727.0.55.001,
13, 27/11/13, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4727.0.55.001Main%20Features1201213?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4727.0.55.001&issue=2012-13&num=&view= (10/1/14).
43 Ibid
44 Ibid
45 Ibid
46 Ibid
47 Ibid
48 Ibid
49
Ibid
50 Ibid
51 Zubrick SR, Silburn SR, Lawrence DM, Mitrou FG, Dalby RB, Blair EM, Griffin J, Milroy H, De Maio JA, Cox A, Li J. The Western Australian
Aboriginal Child Health Survey: The Social and Emotional Wellbeing of Aboriginal Children and Young People. Perth: Curtin University of
Technology and Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, 2005.
52 Ibid.
53 Ibid.
54 Ibid.
.
28
55
ABS 2012a - Australian Bureau of Statistics, Suicides, Australia, 2010, ABS cat. no. 3309.0, 24/07/12,
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/3309.0~2010~Chapter~Aboriginal+and+Torres+Strait+Islander+suicide+deaths?OpenDocu
ment (10/1/14).
56
Ibid.
57 Ibid.
58 Ibid.
59 The Elders’ Report into Preventing Indigenous Self-harm & Youth Suicide.
60
Menzies School of Health Research, Towards a National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy, Consultation Paper
for Community Forums, Department of Health and Ageing, 2013.
.
29